Sports Stadiums Help Lead the Way Toward Greener Architecture

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/climate/sports-stadiums-environment.html

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ATLANTA — On a walking tour of the nine-month-old, $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium here last month, Scott Jenkins, the general manager for the building, stopped in front of a 20-foot-high gray concrete box underneath an overpass. There was little to suggest what was inside. No signs, markings or equipment.

Mr. Jenkins, an evangelist for all things green, was animated. The otherwise generic structure, he said, holds up to 680,000 gallons of rainwater collected mostly from the roof of the enormous stadium standing just a few feet away. The runoff is used to irrigate the vegetation around the building, and by storing much of it, flooding will be reduced in the low-lying West End neighborhood nearby. In other words, the 120-foot-long cistern saves money and helps the surrounding area.

“It’s a community play as much as an environmental play, to do our part around issues in the neighborhood,” Mr. Jenkins said. “If you looked at the return on investment for the water, it will take a long time to pay off. But some of this is good for business and some is good for the community.”

The cistern is one of the environmental centerpieces of the building, the first stadium to win Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification from the United States Green Building Council, which grades sustainable design and energy efficiency. Builders earn points for including features like efficient lighting, air-conditioning and water fixtures; for locating their structures near public transportation; and for using locally sourced and recycled materials.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, largely paid for by Arthur Blank, whose football and soccer teams play inside, secured 88 out of a potential 110 points, more than enough to receive the top LEED ranking. (The Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, where the Kings of the N.B.A. play, became the first LEED Platinum arena when it opened in 2016, but that building was less than one-third the size.)

Sports arenas and stadiums have a far smaller carbon footprint than many factories, shopping malls and office buildings. While they host thousands of people on game days and for big events like concerts, in general they are used intermittently and for short bursts.

But in recent years, they have become showcases for green design, even as critics say leagues are wrapping themselves in eco-friendly banners to help market their sports. Still, team owners and building operators have learned that environmentally friendly arenas and stadiums are cheaper to operate, and nothing talks louder than money.

Their physical and cultural prominence also means that green stadiums are shining a light on the complex and critical issue of climate change. Fans disinclined to care about the issue are exposed to things like highly efficient LED lighting or low-flush toilets, and can see that going green is not a hardship, but a choice.

“Any single sporting event doesn’t really have a giant ecological footprint, whether it’s a football game or even a season for a team,” said Allen Hershkowitz, the founder of Sport and Sustainability International, which promotes low-carbon strategies for sports teams, leagues and associations. “But the cultural and social platform of sports is almost unparalleled in terms of its ability to reach people.”

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which also earned points for its access to public transportation, charging stations for electric cars and valet parking for bicycles, is the latest in a line of green sports venues. Dozens of sports arenas and stadiums have installed solar panels, LED lighting and scoreboards, energy efficient air-conditioning and dehumidifiers, and even composters. More stadiums include a translucent coating on windows to reduce the amount of sunlight shining in and cut the amount of air-conditioning needed.

While some of the most eco-friendly sports venues are in the United States, many of the innovations are being developed in Europe, where laws and regulations governing greenhouse gas emissions are stricter. Many buildings used in the London Olympic Games were designed to be removed and the land used for other projects or, like the velodrome, sustainably sourced wood and other materials were used. An international standard for sustainable event management, ISO 20121, was developed.

The UEFA Cup soccer tournament held in France in 2016 included an array of environmental initiatives, including efforts to reduce energy and water use. About 80 percent of the carbon produced by the monthlong event, though, came from the stadiums, including during their construction. The Stade de Nice, for instance, used locally sourced building materials to reduce transportation. The stadium includes 4,000 metric tons of wood, reducing the amount of concrete and steel.

The key to reducing the impact on the environment is integrating these measures into the design of the building from the outset. In Atlanta, Mr. Blank, who contributed roughly $1.1 billion toward the $1.6 billion price tag, said from the start that he wanted his building to be LEED Platinum. So groups of architects, contractors, stadium operators and team executives started brainstorming at the beginning.

“We were trying to send a message to the construction industry to be efficient but also build great buildings,” said Mr. Blank, who made his fortune as the co-founder of Home Depot. “I told them it was important to me and for the environment and the community. They knew from Day 1 that it was a priority.”

With clear marching orders, Chris DeVolder, an architect at HOK who worked on the project and other LEED-certified buildings in Seattle and Edmonton, Alberta, integrated many features into the construction from the start. This allowed the designers and contractors to consider items they might not have otherwise, like adding a second underground cistern in a space that might have been filled in with landfill or crushed rock.

“It is unusual to have that mandate,” he said. “Usually, you’re well into the design process, or even construction process, and you get a question, ‘What’s this LEED thing.’”

The next evolution of using sports venues more efficiently involves accounting for their carbon emissions. The National Hockey League requires that its teams track the resources they consume, the waste they produce and other benchmarks, like the emissions generated by team travel. That data is pooled and shared so clubs can learn how to be more efficient by, perhaps, doing preventive maintenance.

The N.H.L. takes this project seriously because it sees a direct threat from rising global temperatures. The number of ponds that freeze over in winter has fallen dramatically in recent years, making the sport less accessible in countries like Canada, where many children first start playing the game outdoors. Going green is a way to address a long-term threat, not just save money.

“We know natural ice conditions are diminishing across the globe, particularly in Canada, and the loss of ponds, and what that means to limiting kids’ ability to play the sport, these are things we are very concerned about,” said Kim Davis, the executive vice president who oversees social initiatives at the N.H.L. “As we look at the future of the game, it’s about getting more kids involved and creating a long glide path.”